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In this post I will be quoting from the work The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I: I Clement. II Clement. Ignatius. Polycarp. Didache, edited and translated by Bart D. Ehrman, and published in 2003 by Harvard University Press. I will be citing Ehrman’s translation of St. Ignatius’ seven letters in respect to the Bishop of Antioch’s views on, The Trinity. Christ as an uncreated divine Person who became Man. The Holy Spirit’s Personhood. The unity of the Church and its hiera

The Scriptures teach that believers are to honor and submit to the existing authorities, since they have been appointed by God for specific purposes such as maintaining order: “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves

In this post I will be citing three different English translations of specific letters from St. Ignatius, in which this holy Bishop of Antioch, Syria and Christian martyr, speaks of Christ existing without chronology and without age, stating that the risen Lord is unborn and beyond/ above all time/season. All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 3. Exhortations Let not those who seem worthy of credit, but teach strange doctrines, 1 Timothy 1:3, 1 Timothy 6:3 fill you with appre

In this post I will cite from a letter of St. Ignatius, the holy martyr of Christ and the Bishop of Antioch, being an eyewitness and pupil of the holy Apostles, who learned the faith directly from them. Ignatius testifies that Christ was raised in his physical, fleshly body, which he has now made immortal. All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 1. Thanks to God for your faith I Glorify God, even Jesus Christ (doxazo Iesoun Christon ton theon), who has given you such wisdom. F

The late Orthodox Jewish philosopher and scholar Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet wrote about the Messiah where he encapsulated some of the Old Testament verses, which rabbinic tradition interpreted in respect to the Messianic Era: A. Restoration of the Bet Hamikdash Mashiach shall restore the Bet Hamikdash in Jerusalem.1 This refers to the third Bet Hamikdash that will stand forever, in fulfillment of the Divine prophecy of Ezekiel 37:26-28: “I shall give My Sanctuary in

The following is from the article More than Your Average Angel - The angel that convinced Abraham was no ordinary angel.. All emphasis will be mine. "G‑d's angel called to him from heaven and said…, 'Do not harm the boy. Do not do anything to him.'" (Gen. 22:11-12) The apparently strange phenomenon in this paragraph, that G‑d is the one who subjects Abraham to the trial whereas the angel prevented him from going through with it, needs to be understood as follows: The "angel"

In this post I will demonstrate how the inspired New Testament writings portray the Lord Jesus in the exact same way YHWH is depicted all throughout the book of Isaiah. YHWH “A voice is calling, ‘Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of Yahweh will be

Isaiah prophesied that YHWH would personally come to redeem Israel from all their transgressions, since YHWH was unable to find any mere creature worthy enough to work through for this purpose: “So it is that truth is missing; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself plunder. Then Yahweh saw, And it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvati

A Key Text to The Triunity of God Muslim polemicist Bassam Zawadi reposted two articles (http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/matthew_28_19__by_biblical_unitarian_and_misha_al_ibn_abdullah_al_kadhi) that seek to undermine the Trinitarian Baptismal formula found in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” The first article was taken from an anti-Trinitarian unitarian heretical

The post here is taken from the following article by Tim Hegg: Matthew 28:19. In some recent Christological discussions, the tripartite designation included in the standard texts of Matthew 28:19 has often been suspect. The problem is that it sounds far too trinitarian to have been included in Matthew’s original words. As a result, a few modern scholars have suggested that the ending of Matthew’s gospel might well have been added by later scribes under the influence of the tr

In this post I will be citing from the works of Eusebius of Caesarea to show where this renowned Church historian and apologist quotes the Matthean Trinitarian baptismal formula. All emphasis will be mine. In that He foretold at the outset to His Disciples, that He would make them Fishers of men; and, that they should eventually, openly, immediately, (and) through His power, make Disciples of all nations. From the Gospel of Matthew20. 8. After his resurrection from the de

The references cited here are taken from Ibn Ezra on Isaiah. All emphasis will be mine. 11:1 ויצא וגו'. רובי המפרשים אמרו כי זה המשיח, והטעם שימות מחנה אשור הצר על ירושלם, ועוד יבא עת גאולת ירושלם השלימה, ולפי דעת רבי משה הכהן שעל חזקיהו רמז, כי הוא דבק עם הפרשה: The majority of commentators apply this chapter to the Messiah, as if the prophet said, The Assyrian army, which is now attacking Jerusalem, will perish; but besides this partial deliverance, a time of complete re

In Jewish mysticism, the Shechinah (“Presence”) is believed to be the feminine counterpart to YHWH. Since the term is a feminine noun in Hebrew, the rabbis came to depict the presence as a female, going so far as describing it as YHWH’s consort or mate. This is all spelled out in the in the texts of the Zohar, where the Shechinah is further said to be the sacrifice which is offered to YHWH himself. I quote some of these references so the readers can see just how far these r

The following references are taken from the section of the Zohar called Heikhalot Rabbati. These citations show what some of the mystical rabbinic Jews taught about Messiah, Enoch, and the end times. In these quotes, Enoch is said to have become the younger YHWH named Metatron, and that the Messiah will be imprisoned for eight years due to Israel’s sinfulness and unworthiness. What makes these rabbinic traditions so remarkable is that they plainly state that Israel will rej

The following is adapted from this post: Creed of the Antioch Council of 325. All emphasis will be mine. 8. Ἔστιν οὖν ἡ πίστις, ἣ προετέθη ὑπ’ ἀνδρῶν, πνευματικῶν καὶ οὺς αὖθις οὐ δίκαιον νομίφειν κατὰ σάρκα τῆν ἢ νοεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἐν πνεύματι ταῖς τῶν θεοπνεύστων βιβλίων ἁγίαις γραφαῖς συνησκῆσθαι, ἥδε· πιστεύειν εἰς ἕνα θεὸν πατέρα παντοκράτορα, ἀκατάληπτον, ἄτρεπτον καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον, προνοητὴν καὶ ἡγεμόνα τοῦ παντός, δίκαιον, ἀγαθόν, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν

In this short post I will show how the phrase Ehyeh, which is what God named himself to Moses, functions as a name/title for YHWH. Here is the passage which I am referring to: “He replied, ‘I will surely be (Ehyeh) with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’ Moshe said to God, ‘Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to

In this post, I will be citing the English translation of the Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible known as the Targumim, particularly the Aramaic version of Isaiah 52:13-53:12. I do this for the express purpose of showing that even this Jewish paraphrase attributes this prophecy to the Messiah. The following is taken from The Chaldee Paraphrase on the Prophet Isaiah by Jonathan b. Uzziel, translated by Rev. C. W. H. Pauli, published by London Society House, 1871, pp. 181-1

In this post I will be quoting the English translation of the Aramaic paraphrase of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 done by Sefaria, an orthodox Jewish website. All emphasis will be mine. הָא יַצְלַח עַבְדִי מְשִׁיחָא יְרוּם וְיִסְגֵי וְיִתְקוֹף לַחֲדָא: Behold, my servant the messiah shall prosper, he shall be exalted and extolled, and he shall be very strong. כְּמָא דִסְבַרוּ לֵיהּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל יוֹמִין סַגִיאִין דַהֲוָה חֲשִׁיךְ בֵּינֵי עַמְמַיָא חֶזְוֵהוֹן וְזִיוְהוֹן מִבְּנֵי אֱנָ

The following table is meant to be read with this post: 1 Cor. 8:6: The Christian Shema. It highlights the places where Paul ascribe to the Lord Jesus Christ OT texts about YHWH. Paul’s “Lord” Texts about Jesus “YHWH” Citations/Allusions/Motifs Rom. 10:9–13, quote in v. 13 Joel 2:32, “call on the name of the Lord” Rom. 14:6–9; 2 Cor. 5:15 Living and dying, eating, observing special days, “for the Lord”: Exod. 12:42; 16:23; Num. 9:10–14; Deut. 16:1 1 Cor. 1:2 “call upon the na

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians written around 55 AD, he states the following: “to us there is only one God, the Father (heis Theos ho pater), from whom everything comes, and for who we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ (heis Kyrios ‘Iesous Christos), by whom everything exists, and by whom we ourselves are alive.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) It is no exaggeration to say that the consensus of NT scholarship accepts that this text